The Bourne Orphans : The Gruesome Guardian
by Moridian
Summary: Cassandra, Alexander, and Valentine Bourne lost their home and parents in a huge fire. Now they are sent off to live with Sir Isaac Walton, a horrible man after the Bourne fortune.
1. 1&2Sir Walton's Greed

**Chapter 1**  
**The Bag of Tricks**

"I'd be happy if I were you, orphans! You'll be able to meet your relatives, of which you don't see very often! Now, Cassandra, you knwo that once you arrive at Sir Walton's house, you will introduce your siblings and yourself in that famous Bourne manner?"

Mr. Mailen's voice droned on and on as the Bourne orphans gazed out the window at the passing city. They had lived here all their life. They remember going down to Miss O'Neill's in the mornings to buy fresh bread for their parents. They saw Mr Cuthbert's ice cream cart as the Mailen car zoomed down Front Street and onto Diggon Avenue. The orphans would never see any of this again.

Cassandra, the eldest Bourne orphan, was clipping her bangs behind her ears. Anyone who knew Cassy well would know that when she did this simple task, she was thinking deeply about something. Cassy had a knack for building things, and for inventing. She was a great mechanic and spent most of her time in her father's garage with the tools. Alexander, the middle orphan, loved to read. All he did was read books or talk with his siblings, his favourite was the first option. And there was little Valentine, still an infant, who, like any baby, loved to bite and wail and all that other stuff. The Bourne fire had destroyed everything: the mansion, Cassandra's father's garage and tools, the great Bourne library, and all of Val's playthings. This fire had turned the Bourne children into the Bourne orphans. And now all they had was Mr Mailen, who was always hacking and sneezing and seemed to have a never-ending flu.

"Yes, Mr Mailen," said Cassandra polietly, realizing that the banker was talking to her. "I will inform him."

"Good," said the banker, turning off Diggon."because we're there."

Cassandra's hair fell as he lifted her head so suddenly. Alexander tore his eyes from his novel and gazed out the window. Valentine started to cry. Cassy took her sister in her arms to comfort her, but she was shaking as much as the infant. The three Bourne orphans were not ready for this. And they did not know what terrible events would befall them inside this house.

**Chapter 2**

**Isaac Walton**

"Why can't we just live with you, Mr Mailen?"

The question was out of Alex's mouth before he could stop it. He knew that living in the Mailen household must be germ infested and dull, filled with paychecks and bills and other bank papers the orphans had no interest in.

"Why, Alexander! It is a great thing to be able to manage you children and your fortune, but it is simply not possible for you to live with me," said Mr Mailen, who looked quite shocked at the youngster's question.

"But why is that, sir?" asked Cassy quickly.

"Cassandra, sweet girl, clever girl. Your mother and father had stated clearly in the Bourne will that you were to live with one of your relatives. I am your family's financial adivser and banker, not a relative. Let's not delay Sir Walton any longer, children, he must be waiting. If you ever need to call me, you can reach me or my associates at Marden Money. Understood? Now, come quickly, and step lively." said Mr Mailen, leading the way up the jagged rocks that Sir Walton used as welcome mats.

The orphans and their banker reached the front door. Mr Mailen wrapped his knuckle on the metal door. A slit in the middle of it opened and a pair of eyes appeared. The slit closed, and the door opened.

Standing there was a man who looked run down, but with full fo energy. He hadn't shaven that morning, or for any other morning, and he had a large bald spot on his head. He wore a fancy pinstripe suit with a rip down the right sleeve. His pants were patched in numerous places and the ends didn't each his ankles, revealing a tattoo of an arrow on his leg.

"Well, well, well," he said in a raspy voice that reminded the orphans of a snake. "Look at these little orphans. This must be..."

The took a minute to eye them all, memorizing their faces and clothes. "Cassandra." he said, his eyes resting on Cassy.

"Alex," he said, gazing at the middle child. "And little Valentine," he said, pickign up the baby. he hissed at her and dropped her into Cassy's hands.

"All I ask is that you do ever little thing that pops into my head, while I enjoy my spare time," said the Count, leaning against a nearby banister. "Your rooms are on the fourth floor, in the room marked 'Storage'. You can go up and unpack while I talk to your grandpa, here."

"Not grandfather," the orphans heard Mr Mailen say as they hauled their heavy suitcases up the creaky and unstabbled stairway. "Banker. Edmund Mailen, Sir. I need ot tell you some important information about these orphans."

The trio stopped dead. They now stood on a solid stone staircase that met the creaky wooden one. It seemed that the creaky stairs were there to replace the old stone steps that must have fallen years ago.

"Cassandra, Alexander, and Valentine," said Mr Mailen. "Are the three children of Max and Julie Bourne, the millionaires. Their fortune is now passed onto the children and can only be used once Cassandra is of age. No sooner."

At this, Sir Walton's eyes lit up with greed. The orphans got an upset feeling in their stomachs.

"That is all. Please take good care of these excellent children, Sir Walton." said Mr Mailen, leaving the room.

"Oh, I will," said the Count, ushering Mr Mailen out the door and locking it.

The orphans ran up to their bedroom, which was a cleared out storage room. It contained only a mass of blankets and one pillow, which was stuffed with rocks. The orphans started dumping their clothes into the small drawer that was next to the very dusty window in their room. They rolled out the blankets and made a nest for Valentine, but kept one for themselves. They would exchange the blanket every night: one night Cassy, one night Alex.

Finally the silence was too much.

"Cassy, what are we doing here?!" shouted Alex, stamping his feet on the stone. "Sir Walton wants our fortune, can't you see that? Why would Mr Mailen leave us with such an evil man?!"

"I don't know," said Cassy thoughtfully. "Maybe it was a misunderstanding? I heard Mr Mailen say that we can't use the fortune until I'm of age. If I'm the only one that can use it, I don't see how Sir Walton could get his hands on it. Maybe we just need to get used to living here, right, Val?"

Cassy picked up her baby sister and instantly knew she was wrong. It wasn't their fault the fire had burned down their gorgeous house, it wasn't their fault their lovely parents had died, it was all such bad luck to happen in one day.

The orphans nestled on their blankets and cried. They cried for grief of losing their parents, they cried of fear of living with Sir Walton, they cried of only having a few blankets and not a bed.

Little did they know that their misfortune would grew steadily worse in the time to come.


	2. Working On The Railroad

**Chapter 3**

**Working On The Railroad**

**_Have_** you ever been in a situation where everything seemed hopeless and all was doomed for eternity? If you have, you would know what the Bourne orphans felt like right now. Every morning when they got up, Sir Walton would be waiting for them in the foyer of his huge stone castle-like home. He would say, "Morning, Bournes," in a casual way, giving them a cheery wave, but they knew he was just as false as his silly little wave.

He set them to work every morning, cleaning the floors, doing the dishes, washing the windows, cooking meals, taking out the garbage and making his bed. They would set the table, start the fire, dust the shelves, and clean his abnormally large spectacles. He laughed as they worked, as if it were a game, and they were pawns in a nice little game of Checkers. He had a horrible friend, Jade Shifty, who came down to visit every Saturday. She would laugh at them and say things like, "Look at those silly orphans."

But one day, while Shifty was over, she said something completely revolting. Alex, who was dusting a particularly cobweb-full corner this morning, came out covered in dust and soot. Shifty laughed and said, "See the boy, how stumbles as he walks? Probably got that from his parents. Maybe they were drunks-"

"MY PARENTS WERE NOT DRUNKS!!!" Alex exploded, dashing over to where Shifty stood. He rammed right into her, using his elbow to bash her stomach. She fell into the wall, her head crashing against the solid stone and knocking her unconscious.

"Alex!" His fellow siblings came running to Alex, who had no regrets on what he just did. He felt triumphant, for the first time since he had beaten Cassy at chess many years ago, at doing something that upset that darned woman. "Alex, what happened?"

But before Alex got the chance to answer, Sir Walton was at his throat.

"You idiot! How are you do this, you fowl, wretched, stupid orphan!" he shouted. And then he struck Alex straight across the face. The middle Bourne fell to the ground without a sound: not even a small yelp of surprise. When he had crashed against the stone, Sir Walton gave him several sharp kicks to the ribs. At every hit, Alex groaned loudly.

"Stop this, you madman!" shouted Cassandra, shoving the Count away from Alex. She knelt down next to him, Valentine still clutched in one of her arms. "Alex?"

The boy groaned again but allowed his sister to pull him into a seated position. "Are you alright?" asked Cassy, who rested her palm against his forehead. "That was a nasty blow."

Sir Walton was tending to Miss Shifty in the corner and kept glaring at the orphans every few minutes, which made the Bourne sisters jump. "He is mad," said Cassy crossly. "He should be arrested and thrown in prison, and then throw away the key!"

"You will be punished for this, mark my words."

The Bournes jumped to find Sir Walton standing directly above them. He had a sly, evil grin playing onto his face. Whatever it was, he had thought hard about it. "Tell me, do you simpletons know how to cook?"

Cassy considered the question carefully and came out with only one possible answer. "Yes, we do," she said confidently, standing up to meet her sinister new guardian.

"Good," he said. "Because I'm not feeding you for a week, so unless you really can cook, I see a possible problem for your little orphans." And with that, he strode away laughing, carrying Miss Shifty back to her house.

The Bournes' hearts sank. They couldn't cook, the only thing Cassandra had ever learned to cook was scrambled eggs, which she usually overcooked and turned black. The orphans didn't know if Sir Walton even had scrambled eggs in his fridge. So Cassy went to check. He didn't.

_Why must I open my big mouth?_ asked Cassy in woe to herself.


	3. Scrambled Eggs

**Chapter 4**

**Scrambled Eggs**

The Bourne orphans were very wet when they awoke the morning after Alex's beating. Cassy helped Alex to his feet, then leaned down and picked up her sleeping sister. Cassy, Alex, and Valentine had cried all night in the grief, horror, and in Alex's case, pain of last night's experience.

Sir Walton was not there waiting for them this morning, he had left late last night without telling the orphans, clearly to state that he would **not** be cooking for them anymore. It didn't matter so much, because when the Count demanded ham, all Cassandra could cook was scrambled eggs, anyway. She was yelled at every morning since her arrival to cook the requested meal. No matter how many times she told Sir Walton she could only cook scrambled eggs, he growled, "Liar."

Cassy cooked for her siblings this morning. She had been allowed to buy eggs last night before the Count had sent them to bed. She cracked the eggs into the bowl, mixed milk, salt, and sugar, then dumped the contents onto the frying pan. She heated the oven and mixed the aqueous substance around the pan as it grew solid. Once it was successfully scrambled, Cassy sorted the meal into three and put the rations on plates, and turned off the oven.

The Bournes ate their breakfast in silence. Cassy was thinking of an invention to stop Sir Walton attacking herself or her siblings, so her bangs were clipped back. Alex, whose head hurt from the blow yesterday, was eating his food very slowly. Valentine, whose favourite pastime was to bite things, chomped into her egg with pure delight.

But the Bournes' misfortune did not end here, oh no. The day after, Sir Walton returned.


End file.
